History of Bible Schools
Bible correspondence schools, as we know them today, grew out of the evangelistic ministry of several key evangelists from the 1920s-1940s: John F. Ford, H. M. S. Richards, John L. Shuler, and Fordyce Detamore.
H. M. S. Richards and Fordyce Detamore were leaders in the Bible school concept and perfected the system. However, several evangelists and pastors used Bible lessons through correspondence prior to them. For example, some pastors/evangelists used correspondence lessons called The Family Bible Teacher to connect with attendees at evangelistic meetings as early as 1912.
H.M.S. Richards began the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s first media ministry in 1929 through the means of a radio program based in Los Angeles, CA. This radio program was eventually named The Voice of Prophecy.
In December 1941, evangelist Fordyce Detamore joined the Voice of Prophecy as the associate speaker. A month later, the Voice of Prophecy broadcast went coast-to-coast in North America. In February, Fordyce Detamore launched the Bible School of the Air—the first national Bible correspondence school in the Adventist Church.
By the end of March, more than 2,000 radio listeners had enrolled in the Bible school. By June, the Bible course had been prepared in Braille for the blind. By the first of July, enrollments had ballooned to 27,000 and after only eight months, the number of students reached over 60,000.
Fordyce Detamore was sent to observe a more experienced evangelist, John Ford, and learn his techniques. Pastor Ford not only preached each night, but his sermons were transcribed and shared with the community through a radio broadcast, along with an offer for free Bible lessons. Pastor Detamore brought this concept with him to the Voice of Prophecy. Bible lessons written by Pastor J. L. Shuler were adapted as the first correspondence lessons and translated into numerous languages.
First International Bible Correspondence School
In April 1943, the Voice of Prophecy began broadcasting in Spanish and Portuguese on over 60 powerful radio stations in Central and South America. The same year, Bible correspondence schools, including a school in South Africa, were launched. Soon after, German was added, followed by French, Italian, Russian, Chinese, and numerous other languages. Today, there are Bible schools in about 140 countries offering courses in some 100 languages and dialects.
Local Church-Based Bible Schools
Over the years, many initiatives have encouraged church member involvement in Bible study ministry. The current emphasis in local church-based Bible study ministry began with the satellite NET meetings in 1995 and 1996.
At the conclusion of the first Adventist international satellite evangelistic meeting, featuring Mark Finley as the speaker, a discussion ensued on the topic of attracting more guests to future NET meetings.
Before NET 95, a strong component of soul-winning in various countries worldwide was the local church-based Bible study ministry. Many of these local Bible study ministries cooperated with their country’s headquarters Bible schools. The NET 96 planning committee members discussed the concept of these local church-based schools.
All agreed that in preparation for NET 96, local church-based Bible schools called Discover Bible Schools would be launched in North America and encouraged in other divisions around the world.
Following the success of this Bible study emphasis, Kurt Johnson was asked to be the International Bible School Director for Voice of Prophecy and to coordinate Bible Schools for the General Conference as an assistant director in the Sabbath School and Personal Ministries Department. A key component of this coordination has been an emphasis on local church-based Bible schools working in partnership with headquarters Bible schools in each territory.
Thousands of churches worldwide now operate local church-based Bible schools. And today, the importance of these schools continues to be emphasized through the General Conference initiative Global Total Member Involvement, where Bible study ministry is identified as one of the most essential disciple-making ministries of every church.